Bottle caps



March 13, 1962 P. DREISS BOTTLE CAPS Filed Nov. 17, 1958 w. r A

United States Patent 3,024,934 BOTTLE CAPS Philipp Dreiss, Mainz, Germany, assignor to Vereinigte Kapselfabriken Nackenheim G.m.b.H., Nackenheim, Germany Filed Nov. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 774,430 5 Claims. (Cl. 21546) The invention relates to the kind of bottle cap which is formed from thin metal, for example tin foil, and is shaped to provide an end portion having a surrounding skirt portion by means of which the cap can be crimped or otherwise secured over the neck of a bottle in such a way as to cover completely the cork, screw-cap or other closure member by which the bottle is sealed.

In order to facilitate access to the closure member it has been proposed to form the skirt portion with a circumt'erential tear-oil? strip provided at its ends with flaps by which it may be grasped and having at each edge a row of stampings which are parallel with one another and lie at an acute angle to the stampings of the row on the opposite edge, the two rows being arranged symmetrically on either side of the midline of the strip.

It has however been found by experience that this arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that the tear-oft strip can only be pulled off satisfactorily in one direction. If pulled in the other direction, the skirt portion or the strip itself, is liable to tear and the strip may indeed even become torn-off completely before the end portion is loosened completely or at any rate sufficiently to enable it to be torn away without damaging the part of the skirt remaining on the neck of the bottle.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a bottle cap of the kind described wherein the skirt portion is formed with a circumferential tear-01f strip having at each side thereof two rows of inclined stampings arranged such that one row guides the tearing at said side when the strip is torn oil? in one direction and the other row guides the tearing at said side when the strip is torn ofl? in the opposite direction. The stampings of one row are preferably inclined at an obtuse angle to the stampings of the other row.

With the cap as provided by the invention, the tear-off strip may be pulled off in either direction, or even in both directions simultaneously, without either the skirt or the strip becoming torn. The foregoing difiiculty is accordingly avoided.

At each side of the cap the two rows are advantageously arranged to form a regular herringbone pattern. This arrangement of the stampings in accordance with the invention can be achieved with great precision, because the area over which the stamping is performed is increased by the width of one stamping at each edge, thus giving a greater surface of contact on the skirt part of the cap.

The following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying perspective drawing is given in order to illustrate the invention.

In the arrangement shown in the drawing the skirt portion 5 of the bottle cap is formed with a tear-off strip 3,

having tabs 1 and 2 at its ends which runs parallel with the end portion 6 of the cap at a distance therefrom which is determined by the amount of the skirt portion which is intended to be removed with the head portion. The strip is bounded by lines of tear 7 and 8 each of which is formed of a double row of stampings, i.e. 9 and 9 and rows 10 and 10' respectively. Each row, e.g., 11 or 12,

3,024,934 Patented Mar. 13, 1962 The tearofi5 strip may be pulled either by the tab 1 or by the fiap 2 in the relevant direction without the skirt portion or the strip being torn off before the end portion of the cap is freed completely. The tabs are preferably punched out when the stampings are pressed in, or they may be attached. When the strip is torn off, the edge of separation, which is always neat and generally straight, will be either between the two rows of a double row or on the outer margin of the double row; the herringbone patterned double row will therefore remain either on the body of the cap or on the strip.

The invention includes within its scope a bottle containing a fluid product (i.e., a liquid or a solid in powder, tablet, pill, capsule or other form which enables it to be poured), said bottle having a cork or other closure member which is covered by a bottle cap provided as aforesaid.

I claim:

I. A bottle cap comprising a cover portion formed of thin metal and, integral with said cover portion, an axially directed skirt portion formed with a first double ring of inclined stampings and a second double ring of inclined stampings, said first double ring and said second double ring being positioned, and spaced apart to define a circumferential tear-off strip having a duality of width depending on the direction of tear, each of said double rings being constituted by two rows of the stampings, in which two rows the stampings are oriented so that the stampings in the one row are inclined to the circumferential length of the strip in the opposite direction from the stampings in the other row and a tab provided at each end of said defined tear-off strip.

2. A bottle cap according to claim 1 in which the boundary line of one tab leads to the outer rows of said stampings and the boundary line of the other tab leads to the inner rows of said stampings.

3. A bottle cap comprising a cover portion formed of thin metal and, integral with said cover portion, an axially directed skirt portion formed with a first double ring of inclined stampings and a second double ring of inclined stampings, said first double ring and said second double ring being positioned, and spaced apart to define a circumferential tear-01f strip therebetween and each of said double rings being constituted by two rows of the stampings, in which two rows the stampings are oriented so that those of the one row act with those of the other row to provide a regular herringbone pattern of the stampings and a tab so provided at each end of said defined tear-off strip whereby the separation of strip in one direction results in said pattern remaining on the body of the cap and separation of the strip in the other direction results in said pattern remaining on the strip.

4. A bottle cap according to claim 3 in which the stampings of said one row lie at an obtuse angle to the adjacent stampings of said other row.

5. An article of commerce comprising a necked bottle containing a fluid product, a closure member sealing the neck of said bottle in a fluid-tight manner, a thin metal cover covering said closure member, a skirt integral with said cover and projecting therefrom to grip the neck of said bottle and a first double ring of inclined stampings and a second double ring of inclined stampings formed on said skirt, said first double ring and said second double ring being positioned, and spaced apart to define a circumferential tear-off strip having a duality of width depending on the direction of tear, each of said double rings being constituted by two rows of the stampings, in which two rows the stampings are oriented so that the stampings in one row are inclined to the circumferential length of the strip in the opposite direction from the stampings in the other row and a tab provided at each of said defined tear-off strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

